Job Hunting and the Female Gaze

Author's note: Less pictures this time around, more text. I'll make it up to you next time, I promise.

Part 1: Booking my First Gig! (cont.)

This is the story of how I landed a role in a play 2 days after moving to New York.

Networking. It's pretty easy: you find someone who looks interesting, reach out to see if they have 30 minutes free to discuss, and then if the vibes are right, that can be the start of a relationship! On my second day in New York, I reached out to an actor that posted in a Facebook group for Asian-American actors about an upcoming play he was starring in. He was kind enough to agree to a quick phone call...which turned into talking for more than an hour. At the end of the conversation, he mentioned that his play had an actor drop from the show days before the premiere. 

It sounded too good to be true. But when I reached out to the director Thursday night, I was told that the role was mine if I wanted it. And I definitely wanted it. Most of the crew had been working on the play for a month. I had one day to learn my lines, and my first rehearsal was on Saturday. It was also going to be my last rehearsal before Tech Week. To put things in perspective--I got the role on 3/3 and opening night was 3/10.

I attacked it with a passion. I desperately wanted to be "off book" by my first rehearsal, which means that I no longer needed the script. At the library, I printed out my thirteen pages of text and got to work. I learned my lines everywhere: stalled bus lines, stuck in the subway, in bed reading by lamplight at 5am when too excited to sleep. This was my chance and I was not going to waste it.

Taken the morning before my first rehearsal (3/5)

This morning was the day of the rehearsal. I woke up after hosting my first NYC party (see below) groggy but too wired to go back to bed. I shook off the rest of the alcohol and got back to the script.

These past few days, I have been waking up at 6am like a lunatic. There is something about the momentum and cadence of these first days in New York that gets me excited to get out of bed (a wholly foreign feeling for me). Well--that AND the fact that the sun always shines right on my bed at 6am. I love being awake in the quiet morning before everything starts. After the bus breakdown yesterday (don't ask), I was a little paranoid about public transportation and left an hour before Google Maps' recommendation. Even if I arrived early, I thought I would get a jump on meeting the cast and director and leave a very good first impression.

The only impression I left was the one on the sidewalk as I waited 40 minutes for the theater to open. Finally, as 10am neared, my more sane fellow actors started trickling in. I would like to say that I nailed my part immediately and that all the practicing on the subway paid off. It kind of did. I was off-book, but ended up needing to ask for lines three or four times during the first read-through of the show. 

Reading the script on Thursday night, I thought the show was interesting. After hearing the actors bring life into the lines, I was a believer in the show. Tienanmen Requiem is a play with two interwoven stories. The first takes place in New York, as a daughter tries to craft her diversity essay for college admissions (those who know, KNOW). She is trying to understand her father, the subject of the essay, but struggles because her father has never told her the full truth of how he immigrated. The second story is told in China, 34 years prior, about her father's youth during the Tienanmen Square protests. He is a soldier in love with a pro-democracy activist, and the competing loyalties to country and to love breathe fire into the play.

My role? I'm the saboteur, Mr. Steal Your Guy, who wants to steal the soldier's lover away. It's a fun one. In the words of a friend: "It isn't a play without gay angst and unrequited love". Tienanmen Requiem runs from March 10-27th at the Players Theatre near Greenwich Village. Tickets are available here, let me know if you are in town and want to see the show as I can give a discount code for friends.

Playwright wishes to remain anonymous

So to give the timeline:

March 2nd - Move to NYC

March 3rd - Get the role

March 4th - Memorize my lines

March 5th - First Rehearsal (10 rehearsal hours to opening hour)

Guess life in the City moves pretty fast.

Part 2: John Chan, New York Socialite

This is a story about my favorite people in the city - my people! Initials used for privacy but in order of appearance TL, CF, GL, BG, IC, EC, EJ, RR, and AS, I love and appreciate you all! Thanks for the support, validation, and Bumble focus groups. A lot happened throughout the night and I talked way too much, but here are three takeaways for all you readers (because it's late and this blog post needs to wrap up)!

A) The female gaze (noun): This term describes what women want to see in men - approachable, friendly, passionate. Kind eyes. Here is a TikTok for your continued education: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdAsVLvK/. 

Contrasted with the male gaze which is most easily captured in gorilla grunts: "Bi[cep]s are for the guys"; Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; Die Hard.

B) Every wall is an opportunity for a mural.

C) Chopped cheese sandwiches hit diff at 1am.

D) "Single Payer Healthcare Systems" is not a good Bumble answer.

midnight bodega run...yeah I'm kind of a new yorker now

Next post, I'll have my bedroom decorated and ready to show off. There will be pictures, rugs, and WEST ELM? Oh, and I'll talk about opening night of my show.

Your fortunate friend,

John Chan

Bloggers note: At some point I will need to stop cataloguing things daily, but there has been SO much happening these first few days that each day feels like really really good essay fodder. I will keep writing until the pen runs dry...or the popcorn runs out.